Insidious
by RaisedByTheDead
Summary: Valkyrie, Skulduggery, and the rest of the Dead Men have gotten mixed up in some bad business; including types of magic that they've never seen before, a shady organization dedicated to leeching the magic of others and selling it for money, and, even if they escape, now they don't know who's on the good side and who's on the bad… First fanfiction! Please review!
1. Frost

Valkyrie Cain's feet echoed loudly, too loudly, as she rocketed down the corridor. Her footfalls fell flat, but as her legs pumped and her feet pounded, she knew she was going fast.

The only question was if she was going fast enough.

Her throat was dry and burned like fire, and her heart was thumping forcefully in her chest. Adrenaline surged through her veins. And they followed.

She didn't know their magical disciplines, which made them all the more dangerous. Her Necromancy ring was so cold that frost was congealing on her fingers.

That meant death. Lots of death.

Her black hair streamed out behind her, soft and as dark as sin itself, so beautiful. So easy to grab.

A hand closed around it.

Valkyrie Cain was yanked back sharply, her feet flying out in front of her, and a sharp cry tearing her throat. She screamed and tried to keep running, tried to pull away. She couldn't. Whoever was holding her, their grip was like iron.

"Come now, girl," a voice, as grating and rough as crude concrete chuckled. "Running away is no way to leave the party."

"Get…" Valkyrie panted, clawing at his hands, "Get away!"

The man grunted, unimpressed. Her grabbed her wrists with his other hand and let go of her hair. Valkyrie turned to get a look at his face, and a kick at his leg. Her foot flew out and made contact with the side of his knee. A good kick like that should have been enough to break his leg, if it was in the right place. The man grunted again and snapped his fingers.

Valkyrie went rigid. She couldn't move. She was like a stone statue. The man swung her upside down and wrapped a rope around her legs, tying it with a knot Valkyrie had never even _seen_ before, then hoisted the other end over his shoulder and proceeded to drag her across the ground by her ankles.

Valkyrie couldn't even twitch, much less fight back. The most she could do was blink. She tried to growl but couldn't even do that. Her mind was gong crazy in the trap her body had become.

The man was not as large as Valkyrie had thought. Or as young. His hair was snowy white. God, that was embarrassing. He had a slight build, and from the quick glance Valkyrie had gotten of his face, deeply lined, but had the body, speed, and strength of a much younger man. He had on a thick tan jacket, lined with fur for the damp cold of the hall. Valkyrie didn't even have on her coat, only a thin T-shirt and a pair of Nike shorts. _Not_ good for the chill. Now that she wasn't running, she would have been shivering like hell if she was able. Her breath plumed out into white mist.

The man whipped out a walkie-talkie. "Avarice, this is Frost. I'm coming around Four-Square. I have Cain. You got Pleasant?"

The walkie-talkie burbled out something unintelligible while Valkyrie silently freaked out. _Pleasant?! As in Skulduggery? But he wasn't supposed to be here! Now he couldn't rescue her!_

"Oh, they have the others? Good." He turned his head and winked at her. "The Dead Men, all in one cell together. It'll have been a while, I'm sure."

He was still talking into the radio, but the statement was directed at her. So they had all of them. Not good. So not good.

"Okay, bye." He released the button and started talking to her. "We have your friends, as I'm sure you've derived by now. Avarice has Pleasant, Bellwether has Bespoke, Marrow has Shudder, Jasper has Ravel, Fox has Vex, Swift has Rue, and Frost has you. He snickered.

Anger set Valkyrie's blood on fire. He had beaten her. Easily. That wasn't supposed to happen. Valkyrie Cain didn't go down with a fight. She tried to lash out against the cold that enveloped her rigid body, for she now realized that it wasn't just the hallway, it was what froze her, surrounding her numbing her. Fire flickered in her palms, then flew out of her hands, straight towards the man.

He held out a hand, and ice and snow, cold, powdery blasts, shot out towards the flame, freezing it, snuffing it right out. A chunk of ice fell out of the space where fire had been, but then shot towards him. He held up a hand, catching it like a baseball player.

"Guess I'd better be careful," he laughed. "You might even give me a paper cut." He snapped his fingers again, and the cold enveloped Valkyrie, and she sank down into it, struggling to keep awake before falling into blackness.


	2. Now Look What You've Done

**Blufox03, thank you so much for your support! Your review is greatly** **appreciated; let me know if you think anything should be added to the story. I was like, happy on steroids when I read your review. Thank you!**

 **eyesocketsandsuits, I started jumping up and down and smiling like a lunatic when I read your review! I agree that that one line seemed a little unwieldy, but I _am_ actually planning on making Frost a list-y character. Can I steal that dialogue you suggested? Please? Seriously, it was amazing! Thanks so much for your awesome review!**

 **So, this is the second chapter, yeah… Enjoy! I know the last one was kind of short, but this one will be longer! Also, Erskine isn't a traitor and Ghastly + Anton are still alive.**

When Valkyrie awoke, she was in a cell.

But at least she could move again, and the constricting cold had released her. She shivered at the memory.

"Valkyrie?"

She jumped, pressing herself against the concrete wall. The cell was completely, utterly black, and the air seemed thick as tar. "Who's that?" she asked sharply.

A small flame sputtered to life, illuminating an alabaster skull.

"Oh my God, Skulduggery!" She threw herself into his arms, nearly burning herself in the process.

"Valkyrie. Thank God you're safe."

"Hi, Val."

She tensed, relaxing when she recognized the voice. "Dexter?"

He laughed, sounding just as relieved as Skulduggery.

"Valkyrie, you're as cold as ice," Skulduggery said, sounding worried.

Valkyrie nodded, remembering Frost. "Yeah, it was the guy who captured me. Has some kind of weird snow power."

"Like Elsa?" said a fourth voice.

"Saracen?"

"Got in in one." Skulduggery turned the flame, lighting up the face of a grinning Saracen.

'Yeah, like Elsa, I guess. His name's Frost. He was on a walkie-talkie, said they were sending others after you guys."

Saracen winced and rubbed his neck. "You could say that. Damn you, Swift," he muttered to himself.

Dexter sounded smug. "I got the hot one."

"Yeah, she distracted you pretty well," Saracen shot back. "How's your head?"

Dexter scowled.

"Hey, you were supposed to wait outside!" Valkyrie recalled. She glared at Skulduggery. "If you had just done what you were _supposed_ to do, we wouldn't be locked up in a dingy cell!" She turned to Dexter and Saracen. "And the rest of the Dead Men weren't even supposed to _be_ there!"

"Valkyrie, Valkyrie," Skulduggery protested, raising his hands. "I called them in for backup. When you didn't come out, I decided to go in."

"But if I didn't come out, you should have _known_ not to go in!"

"That's why I called for backup. Turns out, even a full squad of the Dead Men wasn't enough."

"Oh? Where are the others?"

Skulduggery stepped onto one of the prison bunks, stood on his tiptoes, and rapped on the ceiling.

A replying knock came from the floor above.

"Erskine, Anton, and Ghastly are above us," Saracen explained. "Check this out." He pointed to a slightly darker patch of shadows.

Valkyrie snapped her fingers and caught the spark in her hand. But the flame wouldn't grow beyond that of a candle.

"What the hell?"

"They've bound our magic, but not completely," Skulduggery told her. "We can make small flames, get the dust to move around a little, but that's about it. I have no idea how they've done it."

Valkyrie shoved the tiny flame in her hand towards the object of interest. She squinted, just to make sure she was seeing right.

"It's a telephone," she said uncertainly.

"A _working_ telephone," Dexter corrected, "that we can only use to call the floor above us. We can't see the others, but we can talk to them. No one else."

Valkyrie held the phone up to her ear.

"Press the button," Skulduggery told her.

She pressed the button.

"Dexter, stop calling every five seconds," came Erskine's extremely irritated voice.

"It's not Dexter. It's Valkyrie."

"Valkyrie?" Erskine's tone abruptly changed. "Thank God you're okay! Guys, it's Val!"

There was a scuffling sound coming over the phone, some muffled cursing from Erskine, and "Ghastly, stop, she's fine! _Ghastly, gimme the phone back!"_ And then… _Thump._

"Valkyrie? Are you okay?"

She had to laugh. "I'm fine, Ghastly. Few scrapes. Nothing to worry about, but I'm not sure about Erskine. What did you do to him?"

"Oh yeah…" Ghastly trailed off sheepishly. "Um, Erskine? You okay?"

"You hit me. _Hard."_

"Don't be such a baby."

"Anton, do you think I'm being a baby?"

There was some muttering in the background.

"Okay, fine," Ghastly said, "maybe I did hit him pretty hard, but _still._ It wasn't that… Oh. Erskine, that's, um, that's a pretty big bruise…"

"Yeah. On my eye."

More muttering.

"Oh, _shut up,_ Anton! He's lived through a war! He can survive a black eye!"

Valkyrie was trying not to laugh.

"Yes, I know, but - but, I mean…"

Valkyrie could imagine Anton raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, _come on!_ Why are you defending him? He's being a baby."

"You're fired." Erskine's voice.

"From what?"

"From being an Elder."

"Oh, thank goodness."

More arguing. Valkyrie hung up when it got boring.

"Right, SKulduggery said as soon as she was off the phone. "Now, I want a detailed description of this 'Frost'"

"Well," Valkyrie said, "he was an old man."

Dexter and Saracen roared with laughter. Valkyrie's face turned red. "Guys, come on! He had _ice_ powers."

"Come on," Skulduggery said impatiently. "Old man, what else?"

"Well, he had white hair, exact color of snow, and deep lines in his face. And he was wearing a fur-lined tan jacket. And he had ice powers."

Skulduggery stared at her. "That's _it?"_

Valkyrie glared at him. "So what if it is?"

"What about eye color? Height? How he talked - any foreign accents?"

"No, just Irish. Don't know about height - he wasn't muscle-bound or anything, probably around average. And I don't know about eye color, maybe ice blue or something. Maybe that's why he's called Frost?"

Skulduggery face-palmed. "I believe his name is Frost because that is what his power is."

"Oh, shut up," she snapped. "I'm trying to help."

She heard a long, drawn-out creak behind her, like the sound of an old man stretching his bones. She turned to see that a little window in the cell door had opened, light streaming into the blackness and silhouetting the face at the opening. Then there was a snap, and Valkyrie, Dexter and Saracen froze rigid, falling on their faces, stiff as boards. Frost.

"Hey, Fox, hand over the shackles. The living skeleton can't be frozen." Frost sounded disappointed.

"Out of my way." A woman shoved Frost away from the opening and peered in. "Bones, get up here."

Skulduggery reluctantly walked up to the window and put his hands through. A moment later, Valkyrie heard the click of the shackles fastening, tightening unit they fit over Skulduggery's wrists. The door opened, and Skulduggery was lead through. Three others walked through the doorway and hoisted Valkyrie, Dexter, and Saracen over their shoulders.

"God, Frost, this guy's as cold as ice," one of the men said, setting Saracen down and rubbing his bare palms.

Frost gave his signature grunt. "Shackles," he ordered.

A pair of shackles were placed around Valkyrie's wrists, loose, but not quite loose enough to slip out of, and then she was blissfully, mercifully released from the cold. She stood up, scowling.

Besides Frost, there were five others, plus Anton and Ghastly, who were also cuffed, and Erskine, who had been wrestled into a straightjacket. He had a bad black eye, the left one, which was so puffy it could only open a crack.

"Right," Frost muttered. He was still wearing his tan jacket, and Valkyrie could now see his eyes were light grey, the exact color of a winter sky, and just as cold. He may have been an old man, but he was dangerous. His face was lean and long and sharp, like the rest of him, and he had that kind of rough arrogance, like a wolf that knew it could kill you with a snap of its jaw. Except, in this case, a snap of its fingers.

"Right," he repeated. "The directions are simple. Stand there. Listen carefully. Don't attempt to run away, or you will be caught and kept in a frozen state for twenty-four hours. Don't attempt to fight back, or you will be put in a straitjacket like Mr. Ravel here. Got it?"

All seven of the Dead Men nodded.

"Good. You're smarter than you look." he turned to a hallway, drowning in dark. "Avarice, we're ready for you."

 _Avarice… Where have I heard that name before?_ Valkyrie thought. Then she saw how wary Skulduggery had become, and she remembered. Avarice was the one that had taken him down. Avarice had taken down the Skeleton Detective.

Which meant Avarice was the most dangerous of the lot.

And as Avarice came forward, Valkyrie prepared herself for a huge man, possibly even a giant like Brobding, to step out of the shadows. She imagined him, huge towering, with dragon tattoos encircling his neck and shoulders, brass rings around his thick knuckles, a thick black beard to hide his face...

And a redheaded petite women emerged from the darkness.

Valkyrie frowned.

Skulduggery's shoulders slumped in embarrassment.

She was dressed all in black, sure, and she did have a huge sword strapped to her back, but still. She was, like, five feet tall. Skulduggery, tall as he was, towered over her.

She raised an eyebrow at the stupefied looks on all the Dead Men's faces, excluding Skulduggery. "Not what you expected, eh?"

She sounded slightly Spanish, but she had no main accent. Her voice contained the roughness of America, the clipped tones of Russia, the sharpness and aristocracy of England, and so many more, all rolled into one. She was a woman of all places.

"You know why you're here," she continued, walking down to stand at the end of the line of bad guys. "You fiddled with our private business, and we object very strongly to that. Now, I'm not going to kill you, but as I'm sure you know, that can be a curse as much as a blessing. I have brought you from your cells now for the sole purpose of introducing you to my team. This is my deputy, Frost."

Frost stepped forward and flashed a grim smile.

"Frost's magical discipline does not have a name. He was born with it, which is incredibly rare. I like to call him my popsicle maker. Thank you, Frost. You may step back in line now."

Frost scowled but did as he was told.

"This is my sister, Fox." A pretty girl, her hair redder than Avarice's, stepped forward. Now that Valkyrie looked closer, she could see that while Fox's hair was truly red, Avarice's was more auburn, like dried blood. Looking at it made her feel sick. She shuddered.

"Fox, please demonstrate your power to the young lady."

Fox stepped forward and, with a single tap on the shackles, released Valkyrie from her bonds. She flexed her hands, feeling her magic surge through her.

Fox reached forward to touch her arm, but Valkyrie was faster. She scrambled back and took off running, stumbling but regaining her footing quickly, darting forward and through the closest hallway she saw that wasn't pitch black. She heard yells as the others ran as well, and pushed herself harder, careening down the hallways. No footsteps followed her. Why?

 _Don't worry why. Just_ go, _you fool._

And she did, like when she had been running before. She was in that moment when she felt like she could run forever, her lungs burning but not hurting, adrenaline pumping through her system and driving her forward.

And then Avarice appeared in front of her.

She tried to stop, tried to dodge, try to turn, try to _anything,_ but then fingers clamped over her arm, nearly as cold as her's when she had been imprisoned by Frost, and she yelped and tried to hit her, and then her other arm was grabbed.

 _Teleporter._

 _But how did she know where you were? Teleporters can't do that._

 _Could they?_

 _No._

 _But she had to be a Teleporter. Nothing else could appear out of thin air like that._

Her train of thought was cut off as pain stabbed inside her. Avarice wrapped an arm around her neck, and twisted her arms behind her head. Valkyrie roared in fury, trying to kick her, but she couldn't see. Her head was pressed downwards, into her chest.

Avarice turned her sharply to the side, and pressed one pointed fingernail into her throat, forcing Valkyrie to look up. She saw her friends, battered and bloody, being lead in by Avarice's associates, Frost in the lead. He smirked at her.

All of them had broken noses, or cuts across their face. Erskine was now not the only one with a black eye. Skulduggery seemed to be the only one who had not sustained any serious injuries. he held his head high.

"Skeleton gave us some trouble," Frost reported. "But we got them all."

Her friends were hurt, badly cut and bruised. And it was her fault for running.

But even her guilt couldn't compare with her rage. Rage against these people, against Frost, against Avarice especially. She struggled fruitlessly, breathing hard, her face turning red, brows coming down, anger, so much anger...

And this anger only intensified, became white-hot _fury,_ when Avarice leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Now look what you've done."

And then the demon laughed.

 **Okay, I know that was a kind of boring chapter, at least (I hope!) until you meet Avarice, but what I really wanted was to establish some more of the bad guys, and I promise you'll get to know what Fox's magical discipline is! Hint: It's pretty cool and I invented it.**


	3. Leech

**Hi guys! I am so, so, sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I'm applying to, like, a hundred high schools and have been really, really busy. This one's kinda short but I wrote it at 1 o'clock this morning, so… Next one will be really long, promise!**

 **Thanks so much for your support! Please review!**

Valkyrie roared and lashed out, breaking Avarice's grip and hitting her across the face. The woman snarled and smashed an uppercut up under Valkyrie's jaw, snapping her head back. Light exploded behind her eyes.

Valkyrie cried out in pain. Avarice snarled like a wild animal. Valkyrie turned, tried to run, and she grabbed the back of her collar, yanking her back. The dark-haired girl twisted and scratched the older woman's face, fingernails digging deep and drawing blood.

"Oh, crap." Skulduggery muttered.

Everybody, including Frost, took a wary step back.

Avarice growled, quiet and dangerous, the sound rolling through the air towards Valkyrie and washing over her like a breaking wave. The sound was like a dog - no, a _wolf,_ animal, inhuman, unnatural.

 _"God,"_ Valkyrie whispered. The word rustled like a dry leaf caught in her throat. "What _are_ you?"

Avarice lunged.

Valkyrie scrambled back.

Avarice hit the floor on all fours and crept towards her, fingernails clacking on the marble floor, shoulders expanding and arms lengthening until she was walking on all fours, like a furious, insane, stick-insect of a tiger.

It would've been funny if it hadn't been so damn creepy.

"Freeze her," Skulduggery told Frost.

Frost looked at him.

"Freeze her!" Skulduggery yelled. "Or she'll kill her!"

Frost reluctantly raised his hand. Valkyrie looked at him. Oh, thank God, it was all going to be okay, she wasn't going to die, it was going to be fine-

Avarice lunged, and then froze in midair, crashing down onto Valkyrie's leg. She screamed, writhing and thrashing.

Frost's expression was one of pure innocence. "Oops."

Skulduggery ground his teeth.

"Go on. Get her. You know what Ms. Avarice is. You know what she's capable of. Even my discipline can't hold her for long.

Skulduggery held out his wrists.

Frost sighed. "Fine. But no funny business, you hear me? Or it's the straitjacket for you."

Their words were distant in Valkyrie's mind. Her mind was white with pain, punctuated only by static and voices, like the old film screens.

Skulduggery crouched next to Valkyrie. She barely registered his presence. While her mind was white, her body was thrashing wildly, her screams slicing the air.

"Valkyrie, can you hear me? Valkyrie, look at me. Valkyrie, listen to my voice."

In Valkyrie's mind, the white slowly began to clear, and she focused on the voice next to her, the skeleton. Just listened.

"Valkyrie, I'm going to move Avarice off you. It is very important that you do _not_ move. Okay? Valkyrie, can you hear me?"

Valkyrie slowly nodded.

Skulduggery raised his hand, and the frozen block of Avarice lifted off Valkyrie. The ice statue's eyes burned with rage.

Skulduggery slowly lifted Valkyrie, and she whimpered. He adjusted his grip. Then, he slowly stepped back into line. Valkyrie could tell every bone in his skeletal body was aching to run, but that was unthinkable with Valkyrie in the condition she was.

Frost waited until they were by his side again, and then he snapped his fingers, eyes fixed on Avarice.

She jumped up, smoking. Steam curled off her shoulders. She swiveled to face Valkyrie, and snarled.

Frost raised a hand warningly. "Don't move, Skeleton."

"Wasn't planning on it," Skulduggery retorted dryly.

"Let me at them," Avarice growled, her voice deeper than before. It wasn't a quite a snarl, but it was damn close.

"Avarice, Avarice," Frost said, raising his hands. "Do whatever you want. I can't stop you."

Avarice stalked towards them, teeth bared.

"Just one tiny, little, problem," Frost muttered, examining his fingernails.

Avarice spun to him. "What?" she snapped.

Frost shrugged. "They're our bait. You know, for the others."

Skulduggery shook his head. "No. They're not that stupid. The Sanctuary knows that whatever can subdue all seven of the Dead Men is a force to be reckoned with."

Frost smirked. "Madam Mist isn't that stupid. Tipstaff isn't. But the world is full of idiots."

"Brimming with 'em," Avarice agreed.

"So your plan is bigger than us," Skulduggery said slowly. "This was never about the Dead Men, was it? We're just pawns in some bigger plan."

"Told you he was smart," Avarice murmured to Frost.

He grunted and slapped twenty euros into her hand. She grinned. "You hit it, Skeleton. You see, we never explained what Fox's power is."

Then Valkyrie saw Fox behind Skulduggery, saw her place a hand gently on his shoulder, and he stiffened, fell down. "Valkyrie," he said calmly, "she took my magic."

Then Fox moved to her, silent as a ghost, and as Valkyrie stumbled away, she found her voice.

"She's a Leech."

"A special kind of Leech," Frost corrected as he grabbed her, and Fox glided to her, and she felt her knees buckle as her magic was drained from her body.


	4. Traitor, Traitor

**Hi again to my amazing readers! I love this chapter, and I hope you do too, okay? Ooooh, and psst, Darquesse makes an appearance...**

 **Review, I demand you! :)**

* * *

Valkyrie stared at the ground. Frost was still holding her up. _Why_ couldn't she move? She looked at Skulduggery, having to do so out of her peripheral vision. He was still lying facedown on the floor. Fox's magic had affected him too. But that wasn't _right._ Leeches couldn't hurt him.

Frost lay her on the ground, surprisingly gently. She glared up at him.

"Very nice, Fox," Avarice said approvingly. "Very clean."

Fox ducked her head shyly. She had a pretty face, and was only slightly older than Valkyrie herself. Eighteen, maybe?

"You can still talk, you know," Frost told Valkyrie.

She blinked. "What?"

"Where are the death threats? The insults? The yelling? I have to say, you are quite the quietest victims. One man even threatened us with a lawsuit once."

"I'm not quiet!"

Frost raised an eyebrow. "I shouldn't have said anything."

Skulduggery gave an unintelligible grumble. His face was still pressed to the floor.

"Turn him over," Avarice ordered.

"Do I have to? He talks too much."

"Just do it, Frost."

Frost nudged Skulduggery over with his foot. Skulduggery objected. Frost kicked him.

"Right," Skulduggery huffed, speaking through his jaw. "Firstly, I want to know what kind of Leech can paralyze people."

"A special kind," Frost repeated.

"Oh, because that tells me everything," Skulduggery snapped.

Frost looked at Avarice pointedly.

"Fox," said Avarice, stepping forward, "has many abilities. Just as you have never seen what Frost can do before, you have never seen what she can. You are unfamiliar with these new disciplines of magic, and you do not like it. One. Little. Bit." She laughed humorlessly.

"As you have probably guessed from my name," she continued, "I care little for others. I wish only to exploit them, and I respect none except for those who share my materialistic desire for wealth." She smiled at Frost. "Fox, as my sister, of course has my love, but how far can love take you? Not very. It is _respect_ that binds us as humans, that makes us pause, tilt our heads, and say _why? Why_ should I exploit, torture, or murder this person? And I'm afraid, Mr. Pleasant, that you have very little of my _respect._ You are intelligent, of course, and powerful, I must say, but you are far, _far_ too noble."

Skulduggery stayed silent.

"You used to kill without hesitation. You used to be unscrupulous, underhanded, the very definition of your name. _What_ has changed you, my dear? Once I might have respected you, but the girl has turned you soft."

Valkyrie trembled with rage. She saw Skulduggery, saw the way his head was tilted. "No, Skulduggery, don't listen, she's _trying_ to get under your skin…"

"During the war, I was a resourceful man," Skulduggery said, loud and clear and angry. "Now, resourceful can mean many things. I was a good deal less honorable back in those days, but that's what war's for. Now that it's over, I'm quite happy being noble."

Avarice laughed again. "Oh, but _are_ you? I know you miss the good old days - trapping people, killing them, setting them aflame and watching them collapse in the dirt… In that way, you're like me. No matter to what degree you can pretend you're noble, you just… It's not the same."

Skulduggery's jaw clenched.

Valkyrie noticed this, and then found she could move her fingers. The paralysis was wearing off, but her magic… gone.

 _YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME OUT._

Valkyrie gasped as the words flooded her mind. Then there was a scuffle, a _thud,_ like something, something that was locked inside a box in her mind, struggled to escape.

Darquesse.

"No," she whispered. "No."

 _YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME OUT._

 _"What could you have done?"_ she hissed through her teeth. She noticed Fox look at her curiously, the closest to her.

 _I COULD HAVE MADE THEM SUFFER._

Valkyrie looked at Avarice and Frost and realized that _was_ a tempting offer.

 _You're giving in. Let me out, and I shall raze the world._

"No," she whispered again, her voice cracking.

"Um, are you okay?" Fox asked gently, coming closer.

 _Let me out, and I shall kill her and everyone else. I will drown them in their own blood._

On reflex, Valkyrie clicked her fingers. Nothing happened.

 _Idiot._

Valkyrie scowled.

 _I'm strong._ Darquesse's voice was wheedling, perhaps even slightly whiny. _I'm stronger than you. I'm stronger than anybody. I'll break out, sooner or later, and you won't be able to stop me. If you just give in… Well, it's less painful._

"I'm stronger than you think," Valkyrie snarled to herself, keeping an eye on Fox, who looked unsure of what to do.

 _Then why do you need the skeleton so badly? Being strong is being independent. You're me, but you're too different. You're too soft. You're too good-hearted._

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

 _Oh, but isn't it? Being good-hearted is what kills you. A cold heart cannot rot._

"I'm _not_ good-hearted. And I'm _not_ soft."

Darquesse just chuckled.

Avarice was still talking to Skulduggery. Valkyrie focused on this, focused on making out the words, and slowly the heavy presence of Darquesse became bearable. _Just._

"I remember you in the war," Skulduggery was saying. "You were one of Mevolent's chief advisors, perhaps like Ms. Sorrows. Why did you want the Faceless Ones back?"

"I didn't."

Skulduggery cocked his head.

"He'll be able to stand up soon," Frost muttered. Avarice shrugged nonchalantly.

"I didn't want the Faceless Ones back," Avarice said, pacing. "Few know this, in fact, I think that, yes, Ms. China Sorrows is the only person who knows. I was a spy. I was working for your side. Only Meritorious knew, and _you,_ of course. The Miracle Warrior." With those words, there came a bitter twist. "My name was Tina Fandango, my perfect little skeleton."

Skulduggery froze. "No."

Avarice sneered, hatefully, but with a torrent of pain behind it. "Yes. That very same Tina Fandango."

"It's not possible. You're _dead."_

"No one's ever dead until they're a corpse. A word of advice, skeleton. Next time, take the time of day to stab your victim twice." There was a twisted sarcasm tainting her voice.

"Skulduggery," Valkyrie asked slowly, "what's going on?"

The the detective spoke, in a hollow voice, almost as if he were in a trance.

"Before I fell in love with my wife, I was with a beautiful woman by the name of Tina Fandango. She was resourceful, intelligent, and _very_ independent. I cannot count how many times she saved my life. But when I met my wife, she told me I had to do one thing. Kill Tina."

Avarice's face was turning blotchy with suppressed memories.

"You see, Tina was like me. The only time she ever made a mistake was when she was filled with an insatiable rage. That's what made her such a good spy."

"So you tricked her," Avarice continued, fluctuating notes of emotion stabbing throughout her voice.

"Yes," Skulduggery admitted. "I sent in fake radio calls that I knew she would intercept. Using this method, I lied that Mevolent had realized she was a spy and was about to kill her sister. I knew she would be so angry and frightened that she wouldn't question it. And I was right.

"I waited for her to come to the location, then I caught her by surprise and stabbed her between the shoulder blades. We didn't have guns in those days, you see. I then set it up to look like Mevolent had discovered that she was a spy and killed her." He looked at Avarice, sadly. "I never even thought of checking your pulse."

Avarice stood very still, swaying slightly. A single tear rolled down her face, and she flicked it away.

Valkyrie was stunned. Even Darquesse had shut up.

"I used to love you," Avarice, or Tina, whispered. Her voice was hard as steel.

Skulduggery just let his head droop, ashamed of what he had done. "I have no idea why she wanted you dead."

 _"AND THAT"S YOUR EXCUSE?!"_ Avarice screamed, as her emotional dam broke down and all the pain flooded through her throat.

"There's no excuse," Skulduggery said quietly.

And there wasn't.

No excuse at all.


	5. What You Did

**This one's a little short, but I think I found a good stopping point. Thank you so much for all those reviews!**

 **Mya2015 - I actually cannot believe it! _The_ Mya2015? Wow!**

 **Enjoy...**

* * *

Valkyrie was back in her cell, staring at the wall.

And staying far away from Skulduggery.

The atmosphere wasn't just awkward; it was one of shock, of disbelief, of _terror_ even. Everyone knew that Skulduggery Pleasant had been an unscrupulous man, but no one had expected _this._

Dexter and Saracen muttered together quietly, sneaking the occasional glance at the skeleton. He, Skulduggery Pleasant, sat stone-faced, hands clasped in his lap. Valkyrie couldn't look at him.

One day, many years ago, that man had fallen in love with a woman. And that woman had requested something of him, something terribly evil that should never have been done.

And yet he had done it.

He had lured Tina into a trap, he had waited until the perfect moment...

Valkyrie hugged her knees closer and tried to squeeze her tears back into her eyes.

 _He isn't who you thought he was, is he?_

"Go away," Valkyrie whispered halfheartedly.

 _He isn't a funny skeleton who cracks jokes. He isn't a warm friend who's always there when you need him. He isn't any of that, is he?_

"Shut up…"

 _He's a murderer. He's a cold-blooded murderer._

Valkyrie sniffled.

 _He killed Tina._

"He _tried_ to."

 _He killed her. Once there was a charming, witty, intelligent woman. A woman the world never should have lost. Now look what's in her place._

Valkyrie shivered as she thought of Avarice. "Who are you to be saying this? Don't you want to destroy the world?"

There was a laugh in her head. _Why would I want to destroy the world? Look at all that it has. I rejoice in destruction, in killing. That doesn't mean the world should die along with a few billion humans._

"You're evil."

 _Evil is a relative term. Look at Avarice. You considered her to be evil. Now how do you feel about her?_

"I'm sorry for her, I guess…"

 _Exactly. And you thought Skulduggery to be your friend._

"He _is_ my friend."

 _How do you know that? Tina Fandango loved him. How much did she love him when she felt that knife in her back? You don't know him anymore. He may just be waiting for the right moment to rid himself of you._

"He'd never do that."

 _Do you know that, girl? You sound uncertain._

Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery, and realized she _was_ uncertain.

 _There you go. No one in this world is a friend. The sooner you realize that..._

"The better."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

 _Good. You're finally beginning to understand._

"Understand what?" Valkyrie tried.

 _You know what. You can't trust others, Valkyrie. Especially not friends._

Valkyrie looked back at Skulduggery, still hunched over. His skull rose, and before she could look away, his sockets met her eyes.

They held each other's gaze for a while. Valkyrie wanted to look away, wanted to so badly, but she just couldn't.

"Valkyr-"

 _"I hate you!"_ she screamed, so loudly that it tore her throat, so loudly that Dexter and Saracen abruptly stopped their whispered conversation and looked at her in shock, so loudly that the sheer force of it made her burst into tears, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

He moved the comfort her, to put an arm around her shoulders, like he would when something awful had happened and she needed him.

"Don't touch me!"

He recoiled as if he had been slapped. "Valkyrie, I'm still your friend."

 _Tell him, girl._

"You're not my friend," Valkyrie choked out through her tears. "You tried to kill her."

"I didn't have a choice!"

"Your wife told you to. Did you even know who she was back then? Did she give you a reason? Or did she just say 'I want that girl dead' and then you, like a puppy that does whatever his master tells him to-"

"That wasn't what it was like!"

"Well, then what was it like? You didn't have any reason to kill her."

She saw his hand flying towards her, but he was too fast, and a ringing _slap_ crashed against the side of her face, sending her sprawling across the floor.

She raised her head, and looked at him, shocked.

He was horrified. "Valkyrie, I-I didn't mean-"

"Just get away from me," she spat at him. He didn't move. "I said get the hell away from me!" she yelled.

He moved slowly, dragging himself back to the far corner. He didn't care that he was dirtying his suit. He wasn't the Skulduggery she knew anymore.

He just wasn't.

* * *

 **Also, I was thinking maybe I should change the genre to, like, drama or angst or something. Let me know what you think!**

 **I think I'm gonna start** **doing Questions of the Update… So, like, who are your favorite and least favorite SP characters?**


	6. Execution Day

**Right, so here's the sixth chapter, and...**

 **justrockzyxxx: Lol I can't believe your name is actually Tina… And how dare you?! Lol Solomon is my fave after Skulduggery, even though I made him not very nice in this fanfic, JK I kind of like SW your least favorite ;)**

 **Yep, so I kinda forgot to answer my own question… Favorites: Skulduggery Pleasant, Solomon Wreath, Dusk. Least favorites: Dunno… They're all great… I'm mad at Darquesse for killing Wreath and a ton of other people I liked, and then hmmm… Eliza Scorn maybe?**

 **I love all of your support! I've been getting AMAZING reviews and I love all you readers! Keep it up!**

* * *

Valkyrie still couldn't believe it.

She couldn't believe it as she was marched down the hall by Frost. She couldn't believe it when she was raised up on the podium, overlooking a huge glass fishbowl. She couldn't believe it when her hands were manacled to a post or when Fox took up a ready position beside her.

Her best friend. Her partner. Her Skulduggery.

All lies.

The rest of the Dead Men were almost as somber. They tried to struggle, at least.

Valkyrie didn't. She stared out, empty. She didn't care what happened to her anymore.

Avarice overlooked the operation, standing on a platform, all five feet of her. So tiny. Yet so dangerous. Valkyrie wished she could hate her as she had hated her before.

Yet you can't hate someone who has much more reason to hate than you.

Skulduggery and Avarice stared at each other. Both wore masks made of stone instead of faces.

"Tina…" Skulduggery whispered.

"Don't _Tina_ me." Valkyrie expected a yell, a scream, at the very least a snap. But Avarice's voice was flat and dull and tired. The voice of one who has no more reason to love than she does to stop breathing oxygen.

"Tina, if you're going to kill us, and yo have every right to kill _me,_ I have something to say first."

"Why should I let you?" Avarice asked, in the same dead voice. "Why should I let you speak? You sure as hell don't deserve it."

"Because I want to tell you I'm sorry."

Avarice laughed harshly. "Of course you want to say sorry now. _Now_ you're sorry. Now you're dead."

Skulduggery said nothing.

"Do you know it felt?" Avarice hissed, some feeling returning to her voice. "To nearly die, and then, when I managed to crawl away, blood pouring out of my back and mouth, to have to hide? I watched you for years, skeleton. I heard that you married the psychopath who told you to kill me, and you had a child. And then I heard that Nefarian Serpine, bless his twisted soul, murdered them right before your eyes. For the first time in, say, fifty years, I was happy. It was a spiteful happiness, but it was still that."

Valkyrie stared out from the podium, eyes empty. She was only half listening.

"And then, do you know what I heard, after being told that you had been burned at the stake and your remains thrown into a river? I heard you _came back._ You didn't get what you deserved. You didn't get eternal damnation in hell like you should've. You were alive and well. I'd never been so angry."

"He wasn't well!" Ghastly cried out angrily. "He'd lost his wife and child, dammit!"

Avarice whirled at him, and black shot out of her fingers, twisting and twining, unit lit reached Ghastly, and wrapped itself around him, covering all but his head, and tying him down to the platform. She squeezed her hand, and Ghastly collapsed, choking, blood seeping out of the tangle of black vines.

"You shut your mouth," Avarice seethed, "or I'll shut it for you, tailor. And it won't be pretty."

Valkyrie screamed, rising out of her trance, and she thrashed against the shackles. They dug into her wrists. _Not Ghastly!_

"What is she?" Erskine asked, quietly, watching Ghastly writhe on the ground.

Skulduggery shook his head. "I can't say. I owe her that much."

 _"Owe_ her?" Anton yelled at him. "Your best friend is dying before your eyes and you _owe_ her?"

Skulduggery looked at Avarice, regret and defeat written all over his skull. "Please, Tina. I'm the one you hate."

"That's where you're wrong, detective," she hissed. "Thanks to you, this world can go up in flames and all I'll do is laugh. I hate everyone and everything. Fox is the only ray of light to ever shine through the darkness this world is, and you used her against me. I am Avarice because of you. You killed me, and from the rotting carcass of my betrayed mind, a new personality grew. Avarice."

Skulduggery tensed his shoulders and tightened his jaw. "I don't deny it. But you don't know what it's like to be hopelessly and utterly in love. To do anything for a person, no matter how horrible. Her way was sacred. Her self was sacred. I believed anything she said or did to be the Divine Word. Her name was Mathilda."

"But I do know. I know what it's like to be in love. And this, this one's name… It was Skulduggery Pleasant."

Skulduggery staggered back as if he had been punched, looking helplessly at Avarice's wounded face. Her eyes brimmed with tears, real tears, but behind those were the eyes of something hateful. Something that could never be loved in return.

She hung there, suspended in the air, and then she soared down, and landed smoothly on the platform, and then leaned forward and kissed him, square on his skeletal jaw, her arms around his neck.

Then Tina Fandango, or Avarice, or whatever her name was, broke free and looked at him. A touch of softness returned to her eyes, as if she were remembering those good old days, back before her life, her love, and been ripped away from her.

"I had to," she sobbed. "One last time…"

The the softness vanished, and she turned and cast herself into the sky, walking away as if she were on solid ground. And she slowly disappeared, melting away into the air. Teleporting, but not _quite._ Something else.

Her last words echoed back, before she vanished completely.

"Kill them."

* * *

 **Pretty intense, right? Love writing this. What kind of fanfic should I do next, or maybe alongside this one? Tell me what genres you want me to write!**

 **Question of the Update: What magical discipline would you have?**

 **My answer: Ooooh this is so hard… I like Children of the Spider powers, but I would probably have red right hand and that purple vapor thing. FEAR ME, MORTALS!  
**

 **Lol I love Serpine in the alternate reality :)**


	7. The Guillotine

**Oh my God guys. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long!  
** **Please don't kill me ;) I've been really busy with final exams and stuff, and also I'm in theatre and we had this HUGE production. We were doing Urinetown, and I had one of the three lead roles (I was Cladwell, you should check this show out, it's AMAZING and it actually reminds me of Skulduggery Pleasant, and yes, ever since I started Wildfish, the theatre company, I've been put in a man role. Lol I actually like playing men and this is the longest parenthesis ever).**

 **Anyway. I swore a little more in this one so I'm changing the rating to T. Tell me if you're not comfortable with it and I won't do it (as much lol)  
I will change (almost) anything for my readers I love you guys!**

 **Warning: MAJOR cliffhanger**

 **PLEASE REVIEW! AND ENJOY!**

* * *

"No!" Skulduggery yelled out, a cry raw with pain. "No! Kill me! But not them! Please, Tina! Not them! Not Valkyrie!"

Valkyrie was screaming, but she didn't know exactly what she was screaming. She was aware of words escaping her mouth, half- formed, mangled words that didn't make any sense. But that was all she could scream right now.

Ghastly lay motionless on the platform, the boards around him soaked with blood. The black tendrils had disappeared along with Avarice, but it was unclear whether he was unconscious, or… permanently so.

Erskine was putting up a spirited fight against the man restraining him. But whereas Erskine was about five foot nine, this man was closer to seven foot. It looked pretty hopeless.

He was doing better than Saracen, however, who had been put into a headlock by a bullish, tough-looking woman. He was whimpering.

Dexter was trying to throw himself off of the platform.

Anton was meditating, sitting cross-legged on the floor and humming slightly. Okay, he wasn't exactly able to use the Gist, but even so...

"I have found peace with death," he was murmuring. "I will go into it calm and without any conflict with the Great Spirits."

Oh, for Christ's sake.

Valkyrie shut her mouth firmly. Although she couldn't use any magic, at least the binding handcuffs were keeping Darquesse shut up.

Frost was next to her, holding a chain that connected to her handcuffs and watching the Dead Men with great amusement. Bastard.

He suddenly noticed her looking at him and smiled.

Valkyrie lunged at him.

She took him by surprise, but even that wasn't enough. Soon the wide eyes and 'what the fuck do I do' expression was wiped away by that all-too-common smirk. He opened his mouth to speak as he dodged her triple-lunge-distractor kick.

"You've lost everything, Valkyrie. Your skeleton, your friends, your support from the Sanctuary, this battle-"

"Oh my God, just get to the point!" Valkyrie yelled at him.

For one incredible, otherworldly moment, Frost's façade slipped, just enough for Valkyrie to see something she never wanted to see again. She couldn't even be sure she saw it. The teeth, the eyes, the _rage..._

But then he was just a sassy, cocky, arrogant, _incredibly_ annoying old man again.

If _it_ was a he.

But this simple shock, one that lasted less than a second, was ample opportunity for Frost. He grabbed her arm and flipped her over his back, and the next thing she knew, she was hanging by her fingertips of the platform, a couple hundred meters above a forest of complex-looking tubing.

 _Don't panic. It'll only make you fall. Just breathe. In. Out. Don't scream. Don't struggle._

 _"Valkyrie!"_ Skulduggery bellowed. He ran to her, but the floorboards turned to goo under his feet, wrapped around his ankles, and hardened. He was well and truly stuck. No one could help her now.

"You know what we do for business, Valkyrie?" Frost asked conversationally, although he was shaking from the strain of holding her.

"I dunno," Valkyrie growled. "Mug people? Burn down orphanages? Run babies through meat grinders and sell it as dog food?"

"Oh, really, Valkyrie," Frost reprimanded her lightly, as if she had knocked over the milk jug. "We don't do anything half as bad. We sell magic."

Valkyrie wondered if she had heard correctly. "Excuse me? You sell _what?"_

"Magic, of course. If Fox leeches a person for long enough, we get all their coarse, hard, untamed magic. They never get it back. We run it through all this complicated tubing to refine it. Then we sell it. Fetches quite the price, actually. It goes to power magical objects, perhaps even in _Sanctuaries,_ would you believe it… Helps along world dominion plans, of course, but we always make sure that they won't succeed."

"But what… What happens to the people?"

"Oh, they usually die, of course," Frost said nonchalantly. "Or go mad. Sometimes they turn out all right. I'd say… eight percent. But perhaps I'm being optimistic."

Valkyrie shuddered at the hatred she felt within her. This was pure, defined, utter… Evil. It sounded so corny, but she wasn't sure what else to describe it with.

"Of course, sometimes Fox has her hands full. We _are_ very good at are jobs. If that happens, we just stick the sorcerers right in the tubing. It's a far messier process, but also much quicker. We call it the Guillotine."

"I don't understand," Valkyrie said slowly. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Frost stared at her, looking shocked. Then he laughed. "Oh, my dear. Surely you should have figured it out by now?"

Then Valkyrie felt his grip loosening, and although she tried to scrabble for a grip, tried grab at something, she couldn't.

She fell.

She heard Skulduggery's scream as she plummeted towards the tubes.

* * *

 **(Yup sorry about the cliffhanger).**

 **QUESTION OF THE UPDATE:**

 **If you could bring one SP charter back to life, which one would it be? Besides Ghastly and Anton :(**

 **Ooh if you could bring one Harry Potter character back to life, who would it be?**


	8. Utterly, Completely, Inconceivably Alone

**Been too long, guys!**

 **This one's pretty short, but I _will_ try to update as soon as I can. Thanks for all those amazing reviews! Keep 'em coming!**

 **Love you guys!**

* * *

Falling.

Screaming.

It seemed like a dream as the mouth of the hollow glass tube rushed towards her. It didn't seem like her life. None of this seemed quite real now. Like a mirage, except the opposite.

She felt the impact of the hard glass against her body. She felt her bones snap. But there wasn't any pain. It felt like she was on laughing gas or something. Nothing was real.

Nothing is real.

She lay there, looking up at the sky. Hearing Skulduggery's roar of rage. Hearing Frost's yelp as the skeleton tore free from the grip of the planks and came after him.

It didn't seem connected to her any more.

She heard, distantly, the sounds of Skulduggery being restrained. The sound of Frost angrily barking orders. And she felt her magic drain away, little by little. She knew it was painful. She could feel that there was supposed to be pain.

But she didn't feel the pain itself. It was as if her brain had turned itself off. It just couldn't take any more pain right now, mental or physical.

A red haze colored the air around her. Without even a flicker of surprise, she registered it was her blood, being pulled out of her skin. It surrounded her in a scarlet cloud.

 _Listen to me. Listen to me, Valkyrie._

"Dar-Darquesse?" Valkyrie croaked.

 _You need to live. You need to feel. You need to feel pain again._

Valkyrie turned over on her side and closed her eyes. "No. If you want me to live so badly, take control and bust us out yourself."

 _Don't you understand, you idiot? I can't._

"Mm."

 _This very thing is_ designed _to keep me contained. It's drawing me out. I_ am _your magic, Valkyrie. And it's killing me._

"Don't care."

 _I'm not just the psychopath that's going to murder everyone. I'm you, too. And right now, things are looking pretty goddamn hopeless._

"I can't take any more of this. I've learned a horrible truth about my best friend. I think my other best friend is dead. I'm not even sure who the bad guy is anymore. And now I'm having my blood sucked out through my skin, along with my magic and my very life. I'm done."

There was silence. Valkyrie waded a little deeper into the ocean that was death.

And then Darquesse spoke again. It was a simple sentence, really, nothing of much. But it relit that old fire in Valkyrie Cain, the fierce mass of smoking flames that had first inspired her to use Skulduggery's hat as a bargaining tool to take her with him. God, that seemed like such a long time ago.

 _The Valkyrie Cain I know wouldn't be done._

Valkyrie shrugged. She remained curled up on the cold glass surface of the tube, her dark hair spread around her like a halo.

But then her eyes flashed. "You know what? Maybe you're right."

 _Hmph._

"But how the bloody hell do I get out of this Guillo-whatever?"

 _Guillotine. And I have no idea. But you're losing blood fast._

"Help me get up."

 _I'm your subconscious, for God's sake. How am I supposed to do that?"_

"Never mind. Go crap your pants."

 _Because that's polite._

Valkyrie pushed at the glass with her arms, trying to maneuver herself into a sitting position. The bad guys were preoccupied with the Dead Men. Avarice was nowhere to be found.

If only the fall hadn't been so bloody high.

"Go," she whispered to herself. _"Move,_ you useless body."

It obeyed.

"About damn time," Valkyrie muttered. She got up, staying low. Her entire body hurt like hell, but at least she could move now.

"Ow!"

She registered the red haze around her once again.

 _It's killing you, Valkyrie Cain. It's leeching your blood and your magic. We have to get out of here._

Keeping her eyes on the platform above, lest Frost or one of Avarice's other lackeys peep over the edge, Valkyrie slowly crawled up the opening of the tube. Slipping.

"It's too slippery!" she hissed.

 _I'll try to help. I think I can use a little magic._

Suddenly Valkyrie's hands were glued to the glass. "Little less, please."

The suction grip lessened slightly, and with difficulty she pulled her hands up, one at a time, crawling up the glass tubing like a lizard.

She reached the top and hooked her legs over the edge, yanking herself up into a sitting position.

"Hey!" someone shouted. At her.

In a panic, Valkyrie pushed herself over the edge, and hit a cement floor. Hard.

But she didn't have a luxury of time to spend lying there, trying to regain the power to breathe.

So, as shouts echoed behind her, her body still racked with pain and bleeding badly in multiple places, Valkyrie Cain _ran._

* * *

 **Deep, right? Okay, okay, I won't ruin it for you. ;)**

 **QUESTION OF THE UPDATE:**

 **What is your eye color? (Random I know, but I have to ask.)**

 **I NEED MORE ANSWERS TO THESE! :)**

 **Mine: Sort of light grey, I guess, but in early in the morning and late at night they turn dark green… Lol they actually do.**

 **Will update as soon as I can!**


	9. The Doppelgänger

**Hi guys… (grins sheepishly) I know that I haven't updated in ages, but I have a legitimate reason this time!**

 **The dog ate my fanfic.**

 **Hmm. Okay, doesn't really work the same way...**

 **Sorry guys! Review!**

* * *

Valkyrie thought she had a chance, she really did.

She made it far, too. Almost far enough that she began to recognize the place.

But then she heard a swoop of massive wings, and saw hair the color of dried blood, and she knew she had been discovered as Avarice landed before her.

Her wings disappeared into her back, but not before Valkyrie got a good look at them. Tawny and crimson, with streaks of gold highlighting the sinewy membrane.

"I like your wings," she tried. "Leathery, huh? Like a dragon's."

Avarice didn't answer. She just looked at Valkyrie with her same trademark disdain, bordering on contempt. But maybe there was a glimmer of respect in those black eyes.

Solid black. Not like before. Before they had been… What was it? Green? Gold?

"I'm surprised you escaped," Avarice said finally. "Frost take his eyes off you?"

"He threw me into the Guillotine."

To her surprise, Avarice chuckled. "He always was one for dramatic deaths. But letting you escape like this… He really should be punished."

"Maybe you could throw _him_ into there. See how he likes it, y'know?"

Valkyrie immediately regretted her choice of words.

Avarice had stiffened. "See how he likes it, child?"

Valkyrie silently willed those stupid words back into her mouth.

"Well, I'm afraid we'll never know," she continued. "Frost is far too valuable a deputy."

She had picked up on it. Of course she had. But thankfully, she wasn't going to kill Valkyrie over it. Probably.

"You know," said Avarice conversationally, "I just couldn't help but notice that you were trying to escape."

Dammit.

"Well, you were going to kill me."

"No, _I_ was going to kill the skeleton, and maybe the scarred man. Frost acted against my orders when he threw you into the Guillotine. I assure you, he will be punished."

"Great. Well, hate to break it to you, but my two of my best friends are still dead."

"The skeleton is your friend?" Avarice's tone had sharpened. Angry.

"Well… I - I don't know any more."

"If you're is friend, Cain, I'm afraid my nice side is running out."

"What are you?" Valkyrie blurted out.

She raised a perfect eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

Valkyrie swallowed and continued. "First the teleportation thing. Then when you got all angry and turned into the stick-insect tiger thing. Then the levitation. Now the wings. What are you? What's your discipline?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

Avarice looked around nervously.

Then she leaned forward and put her lips by Valkyrie's ear.

She listened attentively, all bouncing nerves. What would she say?

"I'm an alien," Avarice whispered. "I'm from the planet Zurgon and I landed on Earth millions of years ago in my shiny silver spaceship."

Valkyrie pulled back and glared at her, crossing her arms. "That's not funny."

Avarice smirked. "It's kind of funny."

"Not for me."

"I don't care."

Valkyrie growled. "I don't care that you don't-" she closed her eyes. "Dammit."

Avarice snickered.

Maybe this banter reminded Valkyrie a little of Skulduggery. Maybe that made her feel safer, for a reason. Or maybe she was just tired. Either way, she was completely caught off guard when Avarice's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist, and when those huge, leathery wings unfolded from her back and when they jerked into the sky.

It wasn't smooth, at least not for Valkyrie. Avarice looked sleek and streamlined, but with every beat of her massive wings they lurched and bucked, and Valkyrie's vision was filled with dizzy sights of the floor that now seemed a thousand miles away.

So this was why they had such high ceilings.

"Quit!" she yelled, kicking at Avarice's legs. Her boot made contact, and she heard the older woman hiss, but her grip remained like an iron shackle on Valkyrie's wrist, cold and tight and utterly inescapable.

Almost inescapable.

Valkyrie dug into her jeans pockets with her fingers, and found nothing but a handful of coins. She cursed. Where was a weapon when you needed it? Avarice didn't even have her sword strapped to her back anymore.

But she had a belt, and that was what was important.

Valkyrie's fingers scrabbled at Avarice's waist. They had stopped rising, and were now flying, straight-on, down the corridor. Valkyrie's hair whipped around her face and stung her cheeks like tiny, dark whips. Avarice snarled at her, tried to bat her hands away from her belt, but now she had unbuckled it and was sliding it from her belt loops… she was so close.

With a tug and another desperate gasp it came free. Avarice tried to yank it out of her hands and the buckle hit her mouth, and she tasted blood. But she held on, her knuckles turning white, and flicked up the thin, sharp piece of metal used for holding it in place, and with all her strength she jabbed it into Avarice's hand.

The woman's hand tightened, and then, almost of its own accord, it sprung open, and Valkyrie fell yet again. She curled up, hitting the ground with her shoulder and rolling to deflect the force elsewhere, but she still had all the breath knocked out of her. She tried to stand up, but her body wouldn't obey, and she staggered forward on her hands and knees and started crawling.

Avarice landed beside her.

"You little brat," she hissed. "You twisted, sick little brat."

She lashed a kick into Valkyrie's ribs. Valkyrie fell on her side, and tried to get up again, but managed only to drag herself across the floor with her hands.

"Get up," Avarice snarled. "Get up and fight me."

 _Thud._

Her boot, connecting with Valkyrie's side and expelling what little air she had left.

Her foot stayed there, pinning Valkyrie to the floor. She tried to get up, but the pressure increased, and her chest hit the floor.

"Beg. Beg to me, Valkyrie Cain."

"No," she whispered.

Long claws raked her cheek, drawing blood. It stung, and it stung like hell.

The claws continued around to her neck, tracing her jugular vein. Long and black and sharp.

"I could kill you right here. And yet you will not do the one thing that may save your life. It's incredibly stupid, dear Valkyrie, but it endears you to me somehow. Not enough to stop me from killing you, of course, but I don't _completely_ despise you, after all."

"I feel so touched," Valkyrie murmured through her teeth.

And then Darquesse surfaced.

She took Valkyrie by surprise, flooding her being and pushing her down to the dark recesses of her conscious mind.

Darquesse was in control now.

Forever, if she was lucky.

She calmly got up, to Avarice's surprise, and when the cuts and bruises and fractured ribs healed themselves, the skin bubbling over bleeding wounds, the woman's eyes narrowed.

"You're different now, aren't you?" she asked. "I don't know how, but you're different."

Then she looked as if a horrible thought had surfaced in her mind, like some terrible shark slicing the water with a smooth black fin.

"Don't tell me you've discovered your true name."

And Darquesse laughed, and then a hand closed around Avarice's throat, pinning her against the wall and squeezing hard enough to make bones crack, to pulverize flesh, to collapse windpipes.

But Avarice didn't do any of those things. She still looked at Darquesse through half-closed eyes, drawing in ragged breaths through the side of her mouth.

"I'm afraid you're not the only powerful force in this room, young lady," she murmured.

And then she changed.

Her skin mellowed to a brownish-gold, and long, twisting horns surfaced in her hair. Her jaw pushed out until it resembled a wolf, far too narrow and lean to be a dog. Her lips pulled back from her teeth, which were long and serrated and dripping with saliva, and her pupils swelled until they engulfed her eyes in black.

"You're a demon," Darquesse said disbelievingly. Now _this_ was surprising.

"No," Avarice said lazily, her golden-yellow skin rippling over iron muscles. "I'm just unique."

Darquesse had to laugh at that.

Avarice flipped up onto the wall, swinging her hind legs up and slamming them into Darquesse's chest. The girl, the god, hit the far wall, and groaned as her spine cracked before looking up to see Avarice clinging to the wall, head jutting out and claws digging into the plaster.

A spiny ruff encircled her neck, and her hair had melted back into her skull. Her skin now resembled scales.

She looked like a giant, evil, golden-brown lizard.

Well, she would, aside from the wings and the smile and the eerily human eyes.

Then she disappeared again, and Darquesse looked around wildly. A few seconds passed, and with no Avarice, she began to expect the demon-thing had fled.

Then she felt a blow to the back of her head, the claws scratching her scalp, and came to the natural conclusion that the lizard had jumped on her head. She flipped, rolled along the ground, crushing it onto the floor.

"I'm disappointed," Avarice hissed as she wriggled out of Darquesse's grip. "I expected more from a god."

"Oh, I'm just getting started," Darquesse growled. "What the hell are you, anyway?"

"This is my Doppelgänger," Avarice said. Darquesse felt her body crackle with energy, and she sent a wave of energy ploughing into the thing. It fell to the floor, and Darquesse expected to hear bones crack, but Avarice just scurried up the wall again. This thing was tougher than it looked. "It's merely my other form, the one with all my power. It's like you to Valkyrie."

"Not another!" Darquesse barked with laughter. "When will somebody understand that me and Valkyrie aren't separate people? We _are_ each other. For every person I kill, Valkyrie has their blood on her hands."

"One the contrary," the Doppelgänger replied, "I understand perfectly. I _am_ Avarice. I'm just her in a perfect form."

"So you _do_ understand," Darquesse realized. That was it. That was it exactly.

The Doppelgänger opened its mouth wide, impossibly wide, and flames spewed from its mouth. Heat rushed over Darquesse, and then the flames, burning her flesh hard and black.

She smiled, feeling cracks break through her charred skin. "You a dragon?"

Avarice cocked her head at Darquesse, who was seemingly unhurt, but gave no other sign of being discomfited. "Of a sort."

New, pink skin flowed over Darquesse. Her hair grew back, long and luscious and dark. Avarice raised an eyebrow.

Darquesse's back muscles flexed, and her hands clenched. The air in the room felt electric, suddenly.

Huge bursts of energy sparked in the air, death missiles aimed straight for the Doppelgänger. It sat calmly on the ground, tail curled around its claws like a cat. The lightning merely rippled across its scales.

Darquesse scowled, a new sensation for her. "Is it even possible to hurt you?"

"Not really. I'm as tough as it gets."

"So we're at an impasse," Darquesse realized. "Every time you hurt me, I can heal myself. And I can't hurt you. We're two equal powers."

The lizard grinned. "Is that a forfeit?"

"Not on your life," Darquesse snarled.

"What if I bring Valkyrie back?"

"What if I bring Avarice back?"

"You can't. The Doppelgänger and Avarice are on very good terms. You and Valkyrie are not."

Then, as Darquesse hesitated, the Doppelgänger twisted and raked a claw across her face.

 _"Valkyrie. Come."_

The lizard's words were hypnotic, swirling and snaking and twisting around her, and they reached Valkyrie, locked in her own mind. And as Darquesse screamed and yelled and kicked, Valkyrie rose through the fog of her subconscious, and with a gasp she broke the surface.

She was greeted by the face of a smirking yellow dragon.

"Hello, child," it said, and its lips pulled back in a smile.

* * *

 **Hehehe...**

 **So, because I'm bored and I want to post the answers I got to eye colors... Here they are.**

 **Most common answers (in order):**

 **1\. Grey-blue**

 **2\. Brown**

 **3\. Hazel**

 **4\. Green-blue**

 **5\. Pure blue**

 **QUESTION OF THE UPDATE:**

 **What would your Doppelgänger look like? Can be anything. Please answer this I am so curious XD**

 **My answer: Oooh... Probably like a sleek black panther, with yellow eyes and feather wings**

 **Lastly, this story. Tell your friends, keep reading, keep reviewing, and sacrifice a lamb in the name of this fanfic. Actually don't do this last one but you know what I mean! Love you guys xxx**


	10. Call Me What You Will

**Hey guys! I am SO sorry I haven't updated in so long - I'm working on a Sherlock fanfic. If any of you are fans of THE GREATEST TV SHOW IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD feel free to check it out. It's called A Tale of Two Daughters, and I personally think it's really cool. ;)**

 **Read and review! You know I love you, BUT ONLY IF YOU DO THIS! Jk I love you all, but still do it! :)**

 **-RBTD**

* * *

Valkyrie stared, frozen, at the dragon.

"Oi, don't look at me like that," it sighed, rolling its eyes. "I'm just like you, you know."

God, that voice was familiar. But...

"Avarice?" Valkyrie whispered, frowning.

"Yeah. Well, sort of. I'm the Doppelgänger."

"English, please. Darquesse escaped, didn't she? How did you survive?"

The great yellow lizard, the Doppel-whatsit, cocked its head and grinned, showing small, sharp teeth embedded in dark gums. "Dearie me, looks like you're not the only one with fancy superpowers. There is more than one way to become a god. Your dear friend Skuttlebug is a prime example. You and Argeddion, you figured out your true names. The skeleton… Yeah, his subconscious went wacko. Not really sure what happened there. And then me… Well. Not really sure about that one either. One day I wake up and all of my hate and greed and deadly sins and whatnot had compiled themselves into this reptile." She snorted.

"How did I come back?"

"I talked to Darquesse, of course. We threw each other around a bit. You see, many talents come with being this. One of them is some sort of mind-control. No, I'm flattering myself. It's more like hypnotism, I suppose. I called out to you, were you were swimming in the soup of your subconscious. I told you to come back. And you did."

Valkyrie's brow creased. "Why are you telling me this? Why are you explaining? Aren't you going to kill me anyway?"

Avarice, if it was Avarice, **(A.N not really sure how this subconscious stuff works lol)** looked at her as if she had sprouted horns. "Do you _want_ to be killed?"

"No."

"Then why are asking me to kill you?"

"I wasn't I just-"

"You are an odd girl."

"Says the giant lizard."

"Says the psychopath."

"Says _you."_

"Touché."

Valkyrie frowned. "What's your master plan, anyway? Why did you kidnap my friends? Why did Frost throw me into the Guillotine? Is it for revenge? It's been hundreds of years, girl. Get over it. Put on some lipstick. Go out dancing. And for God's sake, get Botox."

The lizard's eyes flared with fury, and then Avarice, once again, was before her. Valkyrie registered the shrinking of spines, the dissolving of golden-brown scales, but what she remembered most was the wave of terror that washed over her when she saw Avarice's eyes staring into her own.

How was it that a redheaded petite woman was so much scarier than a dragon?

"You want to know what my master plan is?" she hissed, and Valkyrie thought she caught the glimpse of a forked tongue. "It basically involves killing you all in painful, slow, tortuous deaths, in front of the skeleton. But maybe I'll keep you alive. You can dance in a clown suit on red hot coals, until the skin of your feet shrivels and dries up and you beg for the pain to stop."

Valkyrie considered that. "That's an interesting blend between the funny and the macabre."

Avarice's hands stretched out, shaking, as if she was trying to throttle Valkyrie, but holding herself back. "Keep quiet, girl. Or I'll set my dog on you."

Valkyrie wrinkled her nose. "Aren't you and Frost enough? C'mon, give me a break."

"Frost _is_ my bloody dog. He's a monster under my control. You think he's just some old man with ice powers? Get over yourself. There are a million things in this world you don't understand. Frost is... something else. He's somthing that crawled its way into this world from hell. You saw it, didn't you? Don't think your pretty face holds back any of your emotions. You're like a book to read. Everyone is, except for that bloody skeleton."

Valkyrie shivered. She _had_ seen it, in that split second, the monster behind the man. And she wasn't quite sure she wanted to see the rest of it. "Okay, okay, you got me. So you're a Doppy-whatsit. Frost is a monster. Anything else? Maybe Fox is the Wicked Witch of the West?"

"So quick-witted."

"Alas, I admit it."

Avarice laughed.

Valkyrie swallowed. She just _had_ to ask. "Are my friends dead?"

"Hmm? Oh. What if I didn't tell you? It would torture you, wouldn't it? I bet it would. Maybe I won't tell you. Maybe I'd like to see you waste away worrying about them, worrying if they're still alive…"

"Stop it. Just. Stop it." Valkyrie growled.

"Stop it," Avarice mimicked, in a high-pitched voice.

 _"Are they still alive or not?"_ Valkyrie shouted, standing up straight and thrusting her face into Avarice's own. _"Are they?"_

Avarice just shrugged, then smirked.

Valkyrie cocked an arm, ready to punch and shaking with fury.

Avarice shrugged, and that shaking arm flew forward with all of Valkyrie's anger and hatred and desperation and fear behind it, a punch that could have killed someone if she wanted it bad enough. And, oh God, she certainly wanted it bad enough.

A palm darted up, gripping the fist and holding it steady. Avarice didn't even shudder from the sheer force of the blow. She merely gripped it tightly in her palm. Valkyrie struggled against it, trying to pull her fist out, but the woman's hold was too strong. Jesus Christ, was she strong.

"You're insane," Valkyrie said in disbelief.

Avarice only smiled crookedly. "Call me what you will."

"Let me go," the dark-haired girl snarled.

Avarice shrugged and shoved her back into the wall. "Now listen to me, whelp. You're going to follow me. We're going to see which of your friends are still alive. And then, if Frost hasn't killed them all yet, I'm going to. And I'm going to do it right in front of your little eyes."

* * *

 **I know, I know. Another cliffhanger. I'm cruel. So yeah. Is Ghastly still alive? Is Frost a monster? Will they all be killed brutally, or will they escape? Will Valkyrie ever forgive Skulduggery? Keep reading to find out.**

 **QOTU:**

 **What's your favorite taken name in the books?**

 **My answer:**

 **Ooh, I don't know, they're all so cool. I love Skulduggery Pleasant, of course, and Valkyrie Cain, but besides those two I think it either has to be Saracen Rue or Solomon Wreath. They flow really well. Oh, and I also love Tanith for a first name, and I like Dusk, and I LOVE Erskine Ravel for a names. And Eliza Scorn. Oh, and Murder Rose is FABULOUS. And Jaron Gallow. But I'm rambling now, so yeah. Let's leave it at that.**

 **P.S Anyone catch the Sherlock quote?**


	11. The Escape of the Dead Men

**Hello everyone, and thanks for sticking with me even when I haven't updated in so long that it's criminal.**

 **I know it's been so long, please don't hate me, and please enjoy this new update. Now that it's the summer I'm hoping that I'll have more time to write and stuff, so… Hopefully the next update will be soon, when we finally see Frost in all his glory. Can't wait to write it!**

 **So thanks for being so nice, so supportive, and for not holding it against me when I forget to update.**

 **xxx RBTD**

 **P.S Also I tend to forget, and whenever you leave a nice review it reminds me to get back at it and start writing, so… ;) Thanks so much!**

* * *

Valkyrie felt sick as she reluctantly placed her hand on Avarice's powerful shoulder. And then slowly, they melted away.

And reappeared at the platform above the Guillotine.

Which didn't help Valkyrie's sick feeling much.

However, it was partially lifted as she saw that the Dead Men were still alive and kicking, and very literally. They had broken free of their restrainers and were putting up a spirited fight, standing together in a two-sided triangle to protect the seriously injured Ghastly.

Dexter and Saracen formed the ends of the line, energy bursting from Dexter's hands and Saracen showing off, as usual, punching and kicking and knowing his opponent's moves before they even struck. Anton and Erskine were next. Erskine pushed the air and threw handfuls of orange and white flame, and Anton's eyes were closed and his breaths ragged as the Gist decimated everything in its path.

Skulduggery Pleasant stood at the dead center.

His torn, dirty, almost unrecognizable hat was set low over his eye sockets, and his hands were full of a continuous stream of fire. His teeth were pressed together in a grimace, and his ever-present smile would have been comical if not for his obvious rage.

Anton gasped, and his legs gave out, the Gist disappearing. The others unfalteringly moved to cover the space, not letting it shake them, and a moment later, when Anton rose to his feet, they parted for him. His Gist did not return, but the dark-haired man was doing fine by himself.

Valkyrie's wide grin disappeared as she felt Avarice stiffen beside her.

 _"Why are they still alive?"_ she roared, so loudly that everyone fighting froze.

Frost jerked like a frightened rabbit, and looked quickly to Avarice. "Well, you see-"

 _"No excuses!"_ Avarice screamed, and Valkyrie felt her ears pop. _"They are meant to be dead!_ He _is meant to be dead!"_

Frost looked at his feet like a rebuked child. "In my defense, they _are_ the Dead-"

Avarice stopped him in his tracks with a look, opened her mouth to speak-

Skulduggery nodded.

And the Dead Men took off running. Even Ghastly jumped up from the ground and followed, grimacing, his serious wounds apparently not as serious as he had led everyone to believe.

Valkyrie's body reacted before her brain could even register what had happened. She leapt down from the platform and joined them, and she heard Avarice's screams of rage as she disappeared into the cover of the complex with the rest of the Dead Men.

No one talked, saving their breath for the sprint. Valkyrie's lungs started burning with a fire she liked, a fire that fueled her. She knew she could run forever with that fire inside her.

They turned a corner and saw nine or ten different hallways branching off the first.

"Split up!" she heard Erskine yell, and they all disappeared into their own turn. Valkyrie sprinted down the far right, going faster than she had ever thought she'd gone before. Her feet flew over the concrete, the rubber of her shoes wearing so fast that she could feel it.

She heard the yells of their pursuers as they careened down the hallway, and Frost almost screaming for order, barking at them each to go down a different hallway. There were only about eight of them. A few of the Dead Men might be able to make it.

Valkyrie ducked down in a cleft in her hall, listening intently for any sounds of pursuit. She heard none, and was able to let herself relax a little, but not much. If she heard no sounds, that could either mean that no one was hunting her...

Or that someone extremely dangerous was.

She got up and continued sprinting, not letting her body slow down for a moment. Every second counted if she was going to make it out of here.

And maybe she would. You never know. Maybe she would get lucky this time. Maybe no one was pursuing her.

All hopes were dispelled as a shadow dropped down in front of her and lunged. Valkyrie dropped an elbow into their face and scrambled back, expecting the worst, expecting Avarice.

Maybe Avarice would have been better.

"Ow," Frost muttered, probing his jaw, and then he looked up at Valkyrie, and she saw that his eyes were a startling blue, far bluer than before, and he smiled and she saw that his teeth were sharp.

And then the monster emerged.

* * *

 **I apologize for the cliffhanger.**


	12. A Fox's Fire

**Hey guys!**

 **I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations! It's kinda short, but I've been waiting for pratically the entire fic to write that last bit. Lots of love my loyal reviewers xx**

 **-RBTD**

* * *

Valkyrie watched, horrified, as Frost slowly yawned, exposing short, sharp teeth that were jagged like a shark's. Shark teeth. Teeth built for killing, for ripping, for decimating. Oh God. Oh God, how she wished for Avarice now.

He looked at her, grinning his horrible teeth glistening and his bright blue eyes sparkling, even in the faint light. Then he shuddered, and his face dropped to his chest, and when he looked up again the angles of his face were sharper, _unnaturally_ sharp, his nose like a knife, his cheekbones like swords.

He was drawing it out. He was drawing it out because he knew there was nothing she could do.

"Oh, screw it," he muttered suddenly, and in one swift motion lifted his hand and pressed his skin, and it melted like butter and ran down his body until it culminated into a puddle on the floor.

And Valkyrie couldn't help it, she really couldn't. She screamed.

His face was the same dimensions, the same angles, but it was wrong, all _wrong._ He shimmered and shifted, and the only solid thing about him seemed to be those eyes and those teeth. That's all he was. Eyes and teeth and terrifying blurriness.

He smiled. "Hello Valkyrie." His voice was smooth, smoother even than Skulduggery's.

She spat at him.

His face contorted in disgust.

 _"What the hell are you?"_ she screamed at him. "First Avarice, being a Doppelgänger thing that's impossible to kill, now this! _What the hell are you people?"_

His undefined lips pulled back further, exposing black gums, and it occurred to her that maybe it wasn't such a hot idea to yell at the monster.

"I am a spirit. I am eternal. I have been around since the dawn of time. I am something that gives your worst nightmares something to scream about."

 _"_ You are incredibly pretentious. How long did it take you to come up with that little speech? I need answers. What _are_ you?"

She felt something behind her, and a shadow slipped from the ceiling like a cat. And a voice, a voice as soft and sweet as sugar laced with poison.

"Oh, yes. He's quite the enigma, isn't he? Quite the little puzzle, our Jack Frost."

It was the Leech. Avarice's younger sister. Fox. Valkyrie didn't know what the hell she was supposed to do now. She was outnumbered two to one by a... a whatever 'Jack fucking Frost' _was_ and a woman who could steal Valkyrie's magic with a single touch.

Not the best situation.

Frost came closer, a twisted sort of smile on his black lips, his mouth parted to reveal his shark teeth, and bloody _claws_ rapidly extending from his fingertips as he drew nearer.

"I'm going to savor your death, brat," he hissed. "You've caused the boss and I a lot of trouble over the past few days, but it looks like your luck is running out."

Valkyrie put up her fists and snarled. "One more step and you'll find out just how lucky I can be."

Frost's mouth stretched wider in a grin, a grin that covered nearly half of his blurred-out face. A coarse, racous laugh rattled from his frame, like a hyena, or a scary talking doll.

Then there was a whoosh of air, and a shadow slipped past, and Fox stood between the beast that was Jack Frost and Valkyrie.

Frost's mouth turned down in a confused frown. "What are you doing, you idiot? Let me kill the child."

"Not a bloody chance," Fox said flatly, and as Frost looked on, paralysed for the moment with disbelief, she addressed a stunned Valkyrie.

"I suggest," she said, without taking her eyes of Frost, "you run."


End file.
